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Isles net first ‘home’ win at Barclays

Edge Devils 3-2 in Shootout for Downtown Exhibition Triumph

September 30, 2014 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Chad Johnson stood tall in net Friday night as the Islanders posted their first-ever win in Brooklyn, 3-2, over the visiting New Jersey Devils at Barclays Center.
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After going scoreless in their first visit to Brooklyn a year ago, the New York Islanders made sure they wouldn’t return to Long Island for their final season at the Nassau Coliseum without sounding the horn at their future home.

Ryan Pulock and Colin McDonald scored first-period goals and Brock Nelson delivered the game-winner during a thrilling shootout before 11,823 fans Friday night as the soon-to-be relocated NHL franchise outlasted the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, for its first-ever win at the Barclays Center.

“It was nice to score a goal,” Islanders head coach Jack Capuano admitted, referring back to last year’s 3-0 shutout loss here against New Jersey in the first-ever NHL game played in our fair borough.

“Last year we never heard the horn go off and we didn’t know what it was going to be like,” Capuano added. “It’s preseason obviously, but it’s nice to get a win here. More importantly, it was a good step for some of our young guys tonight.”

Pulock earned the distinction of being the answer to a future trivia question, becoming the first Islander ever to light the lamp in Brooklyn, albeit during a meaningless preseason contest.

Kyle Okposo and team captain John Tavares assisted on Pulock’s historic tally at the 8:21 mark of the opening period as local Islanders fans and those who had traveled via LIRR from the island celebrated a goal in unison for the first time in the state-of-the-art arena.

“I think the fans were waiting for it and they were pretty excited out there,” said Pulock.  “[My slap shot] is a weapon I like to use. I try to get it off as much as possible. I had a wide open lane to the net and I had a pretty good shot at it.”

McDonald made it 2-0 just over three minutes later, but the Devils rallied to forge a deadlock, forcing the first-ever overtime at Barclays.

The teams went scoreless during the ensuing five-minute period, setting up the NHL’s tie-breaking skills competition.

Okposo equalized the shootout at 1-1 before Nelson put the Isles in front during the third round.

New York netminder Chad Johnson made sure Nelson’s tally was the winner as he stonewalled Martin Havlat, who had scored during regulation, on the Devils’ final attempt, sending both Long Islanders and Brooklynites home happy with their first-ever Downtown win.

“It was definitely a unique experience,” Nelson admitted. “I think everyone was a little amped up and had a good time. We were able to come out and get a good jump on them a little early and it’s a good starting point, but from there we have to continue to do that for a full 60 minutes.”

“It was fun, there was so much energy,” Johnson added. “You could just feel the energy in the rink.”

Beginning next October, that energy will be on display at Barclays for 41 home games, not including the preseason or playoffs.

Current Islanders owner Charles Wang, a Brooklyn Tech alum, inked a 25-year agreement to move the franchise here for good beginning with the 2015-16 campaign.

Though he is in the process of selling the team to a group headed by former Washington Capitals co-owner Jonathan Ledecky and investor Scott Malkin, Wang is still likely to be at the top of the masthead when the Isles show up in their new Downtown digs next fall.

For now, however, the Islanders, who have not won a playoff series since 1993, will try to go out with a bang at the Coliseum, where they began their franchise history in 1972 and captured four Stanley Cup titles during the 1980s.

“I’ve really grown to love that old barn,” Isles defenseman Travis Hamonic noted Friday night. “Quite frankly we’re just worried about the season and getting through each and every day. We’ll worry about moving to the Barclay Center when the time comes.”

“It’s a great venue. There’s no question it’s a beautiful place,” Capuano added. “We know we’re going to be here at a certain point, but now we have to focus on the Coliseum and our fans there.”

Before too long, the fans there, and the fans here, will all be under one roof right in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn.

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